Harvey's Girl
by AutumnWinter1
Summary: Harvey's won a lot of strange things at the poker table before, but never a human being. What will happen when Natsuki is thrown into his life? She's not like any woman he's met before. Rated M for language and themes.
1. Playing Poker

Harvey glanced across the table at the man playing opposite him. His name was Yuki. He was a famed poker player. He had a ferocious, pockmarked face and a large stomach. They had been playing poker for a few hours in a closed room in Atlantic City.

"You have no more chips," Harvey pointed out. "What are you going to do now?" Yuki spoke in Japanese to the man behind him. They went through a heated argument and then finally Yuki threw down a marker onto the table.

"My marker for a piece of property worth $60,000," he said.

"You've got nothing in your hand, don't bet your new car," Harvey said smartly.

"I'll be the judge of my hand," snapped the Japanese man. Harvey shrugged and put up the $60,000 dollars in the rest of his chips.

"What is your hand?" Harvey asked.

"Four aces," Yuki said, smirking.

"You should have listened to me," Harvey said, "I'm famous for giving good advice." He slid his hand across the table. A straight flush. The Japanese man stood up and began shouting in Japanese. Harvey caught the word 'Cheater' in English. He didn't move. The bouncer came up to Yuki within seconds, and the man collected himself.

"Very well," he said. "I'll have the property delivered to your hotel room."

"Wait, what?" Harvey asked, but the man wouldn't answer, he walked away, a handkerchief over his mouth. He seemed to be sobbing. Harvey rolled his eyes and stood, collected his chips along with the marker, and cashed them in. He walked back to his hotel room where he changed into more comfortable clothing. He had just finished changing when he heard a knock at the door and Yuki's lip man appeared.

"Where my boss marker?" he asked Harvey. Harvey handed him the blue slip of paper and the lip man shoved a young woman into the hotel room. She shouted at him in Japanese. She'd clearly just been woken up, her hair and clothing was disheveled and she was wide-eyed and confused.

"I'm sorry, where is the property?" Harvey asked.

"She the property," the lip man said.

"What?" Harvey asked, trying his best to appear nonchalant.

"She worth 60,000 dollar," said the lip man. "She geisha. Very rare woman." He smiled. "You no like her?"

"You've got to be kidding," said Harvey. "I can't be responsible for a human being. That's more of a punishment than a reward."

"We no have money," said the lip man, shrugging. "Boss broke. Kill girl for all I care. She not ours anymore. Have fun." He laughed and walked down the hallway.

"Get back here," said Harvey. "Hey! Get back here!" the man ignored him and he turned back to the girl in his room.

"Stay right there," he said. "I'm going to get this figured out. You're not coming home with me, alright? You're going back to your boss."

"Please don't send me back there," she said quietly. "I have been praying to God that he would gamble me away. He's a horrible man. You don't know the things he's done." Harvey frowned and took a closer look at the girl. Upon closer inspection he noticed a black eye and bruises up and down her arms.

"On second thought, stay right here, I'm going to get this man taken care of." He said.

"No!" she said, grabbing his arm with thin, weak fingers. "He's capable of terrible things. He has connections. Don't go after him, it's too dangerous."

"Clearly you don't know who I am," Harvey said with a cocky grin. "Now, you're a beautiful woman and I respect that, but you're also new to this town and let me tell you something: I run this shit." And with that he took off down the hallway.

He got to the street just in time to see Yuki's car drive away. He ran down the street in bare feet.

"Hey!" he shouted into the street. "HEY!"

But he was too late.


	2. Meet Natsuki

Harvey called the police, reported the strange incident, and returned to his room. Not defeated, never defeated, but angry. The small Asian woman sitting in his room was an obvious reminder that he had been had, and that was something that Harvey Specter would not stand for.

"Come on," he said when he returned to his room. "We're getting you out of my hair."

"Your hair is very nice," she said. His face showed his obvious annoyance.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Natsuki," she said, bowing slightly. "Pleased to be at your service."

"Good for you," he snapped, "I'm Harvey Specter." She smiled brilliantly, revealing a row of pearl-like teeth.

"Wonderful to meet you," she said.

"I'm so sure. Come on. I'm taking you to the cops." She turned white.

"Why? What did I do?" she said.

"You need to be taken care of," he said. "Do you have anyone you can live with for now?" she shook her head rapidly.

"I worked for Mr. Yuki," she said. "I have no friends. He didn't let me out of the house." Harvey considered the idea that she was lying, but then looked closer at her enormous brown eyes and his gut said she wasn't. He let out a long breath.

"Fine. There's a woman's shelter back in New York City. We'll get you set up there."

"A _women's shelter_?" she looked as if she was about to pass out.

"Hey, you're the one that got yourself gambled off in a bad game of poker, not me," he said, his temper flaring. "Now, I don't like the situation, I like it even less than you do but we've got a mess on our hands and no way to clean it up until the cops track down Yuki and his henchman. So until then you're just going to have to bear with me, alright? Get this through your head: _you do not belong to me_. I do not own you. I don't know you, and the last time I checked I don't care about you. I'm doing you a favor by not kicking you out of my room so show a little thanks, alright?" she nodded numbly.

"Now I'm going to drive back to New York City tomorrow morning and we're going to get you set up in a women's shelter and you're going to be fine. For now crash on the couch because there's nothing we can do. I'm going to try the front desk again."

She was silent for a few long moments and Harvey wondered if she was going to cry. Then she said in a very small voice,

"I'm sorry. Thank you, sir." He nodded sharply, then put on his shoes and walked out.

While he was gone, Natsuki sat down with a thump on the bed. She put her head in her hands and thought about the process that had gotten her into her sticky situation. She had been working for Mr. Yuki for only a few years before she had been forked over to Mr. Specter like some secondhand bicycle.

_Well, _she thought disdainfully, _There's no way I'm going to take this sitting down. _She stood up and began to pace. _I'm Natsuki Takeshi, damn it, and I don't take orders from any man! _she smiled to herself as a plan began to form in the back of her mind. If she could not convince Mr. Specter with words, she would have to seduce him.

He was the same as any man, and any man could be seduced. He didn't care about her now? So be it. She may not look her best now but give her a few days, a trip to the spa, and a hot bath, and she'd be looking her best. And at her best, no man could resist her.

With a toss of her head, Natsuki walked to the shower. And when Harvey returned, he was shocked to see her curled up in his bed on her side like a shrimp, her long black hair pooled in a fan around her petite white face, the slightest smile on her lips. She was beautiful, he realized, but that didn't give her any right to barge into his life. It appeared that both Harvey and Natsuki were in for more than they bargained for.


	3. Your Suit

Harvey woke up from sleeping on the couch with a crick in his neck. Natsuki was standing in front of the mirror, readjusting one of his ties around her neck. She was wearing it tucked into a pair of his best suit pants, which were rolled up several times so that they didn't drag on the ground. The collared shirt was loose, but she had tucked it in around her small waist into the pants legs.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she said. Harvey blinked a few times and then stared at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just putting on some clothes." she asked with an innocent smile.

"Which brings me back to the question, what the hell are you doing?" he snapped.

"I _had _to put on some clothes. Would you rather wake up to me naked?" she asked. "He took all of my clothes. What else could I do?"

"Nothing fits you. You're too tiny," said Harvey. Indeed, she was dwarfed by the six foot man, when she was barely five foot two and as thin as a chopstick. She shrugged.

"It's comfortable in here. Not to mention I look like one of those girls in your magazine – what is it called? Vogue?"

"We're going to have to set some boundaries," Harvey said. "First of all, don't go taking my things without asking."

"Did you sleep well?" she asked. He got up and went into the bathroom, shutting the door halfway to get changed so he could keep an eye on her.

"I slept fine," he said. He dressed quickly and stepped out.

"Want me to tie your tie?" she asked and, without waiting for an answer, she stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration and tied his tie very fast.

"Done," she offered, tightening it around his neck. He blinked and looked in the mirror. It was perfect. She pranced off to the other side of the room. "I'm sorry I took your clothes without asking," she said, and then looked up at Harvey with those large brown eyes. "I just didn't know what else to do. To be honest with you I was pretty embarrassed you saw me in my negligee last night."

He stared at her in disbelief. She actually looked… cute. She was right. She looked like she was on the edge of fashion. No thanks to him. It was her tiny frame and enormous eyes creating that image.

"Let's go," he said, ignoring the thought. "I want to be back in New York by this afternoon."

"Roger, roger," she said, an enormous smile on her face. She leapt off the bed, clunking in his oversized shoes. She had brushed her hair countless times and then let it fall down on either side of her face. It was so long it hung to her waist, but it was cleanly cut and didn't look messy at all.

"You know you don't really look like what I picture when I think of a geisha," Harvey began as they walked out of the room.

"It takes me hours to get on the traditional makeup and hair," she said with a sigh. "It was too much for this morning. I knew you were going to be in a rush and, like I said, I didn't have any of my equipment." She bit her lower lip. "He took all of my kimonos," she admitted finally. "They're worth thousands of dollars each and he took all of them. Not really anything I can do about it. It just hurts."

"You care that much about a bunch of dresses?"

"How would you feel if someone took all your suits?" she asked.

"I'd be pissed," he admitted. She shrugged and smiled again, that mysterious, small smile that seemed to linger, half-asleep, on her lips. "So what's for breakfast?" she asked as they walked down the hallway.

"We can eat on the road," he said. "I'll get you some hash browns or something."

"What is harsh browns?" she asked.

"Patties of fried potato," he said. "I take it you're not originally from America?"

"No," she said, "I was born and raised in Japan. It just so happened that-"

"With all due respect, I don't really give a damn about your back story," he said. She smiled without missing a beat.

"Of course, Mr. Specter," she said. He was surprised at how easily she let go of his coldness. Usually it riled people up. They reached the end of the hallway and walked out to the checkout.

"How was your stay, Mr. Specter?" asked the receptionist.

"It was," said Harvey dryly. They walked out to the car.


	4. An Opportunity

"Ooh, I love this song!" Natsuki said, jumping up and down in the car and tapping the driver on the shoulder. Harvey smirked despite himself.

"What are you, eight years old?" she smiled.

"I wish. Eight was a great age." She looked out the window and then turned back to him after a moment. "What were you doing at eight years old?" she asked.

"I wasn't looking into becoming a premier geisha, if that's what you're asking," he said. "I had a little time to look into your occupation, Miss Natsuki, and was surprised to find it's little more than glamorized prostitution."

"I'm surprised at _you_, Mr. Specter, for having such a narrow view of the world," she said. "I charge for my company, not for my body. Men from all over the world have paid hundreds of dollars an hour just to sit with me and drink tea. I'm a listener. I'm an artist. And pray tell, Mr. Specter, what you do for a living?" he made a face and then answered,

"I'm a lawyer. A closer." She laughed out loud.

"And you're criticizing my way of life?" she said. "I probably look like a Puritan next to you." She laughed again, and then quieted. "But in seriousness, Mr. Specter, I want you to know that when you drop me off at the Women's Shelter I'll be doing everything I was trained to do. Just perhaps in a much… less glamorous… setting." She bit her lower lip, for the first time real worry creasing her brow.

"It's really a shame," she continued. "I don't mean to complain, you understand that. But it's like taking a fish and telling it to fly. I'm not in Japan. No one here understands what I do – you just said yourself I'm nothing more than a glamorized prostitute. I don't doubt that's what you believe. And I can't go back." Harvey's ears perked up at the sound of what was beginning to look like legal trouble.

"Why can't you go back?" he asked.

"Yuki," she said in explanation. "If he knew I was back in Japan I'd be done for."

"Why?"

"He's a crime lord," she said in explanation. "He was my _danna – _I guess you would say, in English, my…"

"Sugar daddy?" asked Harvey dryly.

"I was going to say provider, but that works too," she said. "I didn't have a choice in the matter. One word of dissent and…" she pointed to her black eye. "Pow," she said.

"Well, the police are tracking him down now, so you'll be safe to go to Japan," Harvey said. She laughed again, but this time it was a dry, hollow sound.

"The police will never get him," she said. "He's probably back in Japan right now." She shrugged. "No matter," she said. "I guess I can be a cleaning lady or a waitress. I speak English pretty well and I'm not afraid to work." She looked up at Harvey. Harvey felt the gears clicking and then said,

"You'll work for me."

Her jaw dropped. She could not believe her plan had actually worked. She let out an un-geisha-like shriek.

"Mr. Specter! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"It's not going to be easy work," he warned her. "I have a huge apartment-"

"I'm sure you do,"

"-and I'm not around a lot of the time-"

"I'm sure you're very busy,"

"-and I often bring home female companions-"

"Busy in that department, too,"

"-but I think this could work out," he said.

"Oh, thank you!" she said, and tried to hug him.

"No, no, we don't hug," he said.

"Oh. Well, in anyway, thank you, Mr. Specter," she said, smiling enormously, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness. He smiled.

"I'll get you set up in the women's home and you can start on Monday."


	5. The Women's Home

Harvey walked into the women's shelter and went straight to the front desk.

"Hello," he said, taking out his checkbook.

"Hello," said the girl at the desk.

"My name is Harvey Specter. I'm going to write down a number with a lot of numbers," he said, "Now, this is an anonymous donation. I was never here."

"But you-"

"I was never here," he repeated firmly, "But that woman out there, the woman that's about to walk through that door, you're going to make sure that she gets her own room and that she's out of here in a few weeks with her own apartment. I don't want you to ask her any questions about where she came from."

"I can't do that," said the woman at the desk.

"Yes, you can. And you will," Harvey said easily. The woman behind the desk blushed. He smiled and slid the check across the desk. The woman's eyes bugged.

"Sure thing, Mr. Specter," she said.

"Excellent," he said. "I'll go get her. And remember, no questions." He walked out and the chauffer got the door for Natsuki.

She looked completely out of place in his suit. She was right, she was a fish and he was asking her to fly. But she would have to learn. He looked down at her.

"Good news. They have room for you," he said.

"Excellent," she said, mimicking his voice perfectly. He tilted his head.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked.

"No, not at all," she said.

"If you're doing Harvey, you've got to have a deeper voice than that," he said.

"Excellent," she said again, in a ridiculously deep voice.

"No, no, no – 'Excellent',"

"Excellent," she said, giggling.

"Excellent," he said, opening the door for her. She walked in.

"I heard there was an open room?" Harvey said.

"Of course. Right this way," the woman said, leading them down the hallway. More than a few heads poked out the doors and stared at the handsome man leading Natsuki down the carpeted hall. She led them to an empty room set up much like a single dorm room.

"The bathrooms are down the hallway," said the woman.

"Thank you," Natsuki said, bowing slightly. She turned to Harvey.

"Monday, Mr. Specter?"

"Yes."

"Ok, Boss," she said, and gave him a thumbs-up. He rolled his eyes and slipped out, smiling to himself.

"Do you have a change of clothes?" Natsuki asked as soon as he left.


	6. A Mistake

While Harvey was at work debating mergers and bankrolls with Mike, Natsuki was exploring his beautiful apartment. She scrubbed out the bathtub, turned over the sheets and washed the linens, before restacking them in the closet. She dusted, scoured, and mopped. She scrubbed the countertops, emptied the garbage's, and washed out all the dirty mugs in the sink. She cleaned out the microwave and threw away all the rotten food in the fridge. She even cleaned out the expensive coffee machine that looked like it was off a space ship.

When she was finished it was four thirty. She took a meditative moment to make herself some black tea. When she had finished it, and Harvey still wasn't home yet, she had the brilliant idea of cooking him dinner. She made traditional rice balls and set the table for two, thinking that the two of them would eat together and it would be wildly romantic and he would realize he loved her, like a proper man.

She ran to the bathroom and pinned her messy hair back in a bun. She scrubbed all of the bleach and ammonia off of her hands and shook the dust off of her uniform. There was nothing she could do to improve the dingy, brownish pink uniform, but she figured that she filled it out well enough to make it look good.

She sat at the table and waited. And waited. And waited.

Harvey got home around nine at night and was shocked to find a cold dinner and an unconscious Natsuki at his countertop. He shook her awake.

"Oh!" she said in surprise, wiping drool off the side of her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I must have fallen asleep!" she laughed at herself. "Want a tour?" she asked with an enormous smile.

"What? No," he said. "I know my own damn house." Affronted, Natsuki blinked in surprise. "Go home." he said. "I said you could clean my apartment, not try to be my mom. I'm paying you to do this, Natsuki, so you can quit it with the kid stuff. Stop acting like a five year old and grow up." he had raised his voice at the end and didn't realize how angry he sounded until he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Fine," she said with a shaky voice. "I understand. I didn't before, but I do now. You don't have to yell, Mr. Specter." She tilted her chin up proudly and then gathered her bag, and then walked out, edging her way past the beautiful woman he had brought home. She slipped out.

She didn't have money for a cab, or the subway. She had been hoping to ask for an advance on her first paycheck, as it was twenty blocks to the women's shelter, and her shoes were already falling apart, but there was nothing to be done about it now. She practically ran the entire way, her mind filled with terrified images of rape and murder, but nothing happened. She made it to the women's shelter sweating with fear, and threw herself into the thin mattress on the cot, sobbing.

She had never been so humiliated in her entire life. After all her hard work, after trying so hard to win Harvey over, and all she'd gotten was a good chastising. She felt like a fool. Clearly Harvey wasn't the kind of man with a heart. He was cold, and distant. He was no different from Yuki, in her opinion. She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She refused to cry any longer. And she knew in her heart that she was much better off scrubbing Harvey's toilets than facing Yuki's fists. Still, it was a hard pill to swallow. She let out a long breath and curled up in her bed.

_Tomorrow will be better, Natsuki_, she promised herself. _Why do we fall down? So we learn to get back up again._ And with this happy thought, she fell asleep.


	7. Guilt

Harvey woke up alone. Apparently his guest hadn't been up for round two. Fine by him. Perhaps he would actually show up for work on time today. That would shock Louis into a coma. The thought actually made him smile. He opened the coffee maker and stopped short. Inside the Keurig, Natsuki had left a tiny Post-it. He unfolded it. In shaky, unsure handwriting, as if she was not used to writing English, read the words:

_Have a great day, Harvey! _

Well. That was not expected. He crumpled up the note and threw it out. He opened the fridge to see that she had left the extra rice balls in a neat little dish, supposedly for breakfast this morning. Before he knew what he was doing, he had taken one out of the dish and bitten down.

It was delicious. Definitely not what he was used to, but delicious. He loved sushi, it wasn't too different and the rice was soft and sticky. He finished it, drank his coffee and slipped out of his room, trying to outrun his guilt.

"You're early," said Jessica, catching him in the hallway. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm not early, I'm on time, and I don't need an occasion to be good at my job. It's what I do every day," he said in a chastising tone with a smirk. He slapped some files onto Donna's desk and called Mike into his room to begin the day.

"_Rule number one: is that you gotta have fun. But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run." _

Natsuki cleaned the house exactly as she had the day before, blasting music on the television. She ate a small lunch from the food he had in the house, and then she decided to tackle his closet.

She organized his suits by make and model, noticing that if she stole just a single tiepin she could be out of the home within a few weeks. She polished them and slipped one into her pocket.

She tried to walk out of the room but she couldn't do it. She sighed and returned the tiepin carefully back where it belonged. True, Harvey probably wouldn't notice, and it would be easy to get away with, but her gut just wouldn't let her do something so dishonest.

She finished at around four o clock and went to the fridge to dump out what she had made the day earlier. She saw that one of the rice balls was gone. She blinked in surprise and then laughed. Those weren't for breakfast; they were a snack! But… perhaps Mr. Specter was not as heartless as she thought. Nonetheless, she didn't want a repeat of the night before, and she packed up her things and left at four o clock, leaving a bowl of steamed rice and miso soup in the fridge, along with freshly steamed greens. She wrote a note that he was almost out of coffee, and that she still needed a key of her own, and then she let herself out.

She had asked for subway fare that morning so she was able to ride in the underground hellhole for the first time in her life. She was sweating, she was so afraid of missing her stop, but she managed to get back to her little room without any mishaps.

She sat at her desk and started drafting ideas for what she had always wanted: her own tea room. She crumpled up paper after paper but kept drawing, doodling the logo, the front awning, the side of the building, what the inside would look like.

Without warning, Harvey was suddenly in her room. She stood up and knocked over her chair, and bowed.

"Hello, Mr. Specter," she said, head still bowed. "is something the matter?" she looked up cautiously.

"I decided to give you an advance on your first paycheck. This money is to put towards your own place, nothing else. Don't go spending it all on expensive clothes or drinking, got it?" she blinked in surprise and then took the check from him.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"And here's the spare key you wanted," he said. He handed it to her. She looked up at him in confusion.

"You came all the way down here just for a spare key?" she asked. He made a face and then she understood – this was his way of apologizing. There was no way he would say the words. She realized in that moment that he wasn't the cold man she thought he was. He did care. She smiled brilliantly.

"Thank you," she repeated.

"Don't lose it. I don't want anyone breaking into my apartment." He said. He stepped out and then looked back at her. "Oh, and Natsuki?"

"Yes?"

"You can call me Harvey. Just… don't overdo it, alright?"

"Sure thing… Harvey."


	8. Meet Mike

Harvey didn't like the miso soup. Natsuki decided that even though rice balls weren't technically a breakfast food, she would make them for him because he seemed to like them. She ran into him one morning as she was early and he was running late.

"Is that the best the shelter can give you for clothing?" he asked.

"Is that the best your fat paycheck can do for _your _clothing?" she retorted back, smiling hugely. He smiled at her despite himself and she started getting out the cleaning supplies.

"Have you gotten a place to live yet?" he asked.

"I'm looking around," she said. "You pay me very well so it's not a matter of cost, but I'm terrified of getting cheated."

"Why don't you try Chinatown?" asked Harvey.

"I'm Japanese," Natsuki reminded him. Harvey shrugged.

"I'm sure they wouldn't discriminate. There are a bunch of nice sushi places in Chinatown."

"Where is it?" she asked, excited.

"You really don't know your way around by now?" he asked, exasperated.

"New York City is a big town," she said.

"You know what?" Harvey said, tapping his lips. "I'm way too busy to help you out, but I know someone who might be able to assist."

"You want me to _what_?" Mike asked.

"Show her around. Find her a place to live that doesn't have cockroaches. But… you know. Your kind of place." Said Harvey.

"Gee, thanks, Harvey-"

"Set her up in Chinatown."

"How did you find this girl again?"

"That's none of your business."

"I just want to make sure I'm not running myself into a Pretty Woman situation. You know, you trying to set her up in a nice apartment."

"Think of it like a pro-bono case."

"Jessica hasn't assigned you one."

"She's just a friend."

"You don't have friends."

"Alright, Lippy, you want to do chores for Louis instead?" snapped Harvey.

"No, no, all right, sorry," said Mike, throwing his hands up. He rode his bike to the women's shelter and stopped short in front of the building. He double checked the address, and then stopped short when a beautiful Asian woman came bounding out the front door.

"You must be Mike!" she said with a slight Japanese twang. She was wearing a loose, ill-fitting sweater and a pair of skinny jeans with sneakers. Her hair was held back with a hair tie. Despite this, it did not detract from her pretty face, and Mike was surprised that _this_ was the girl that Harvey didn't want to go house-hunting with. She was nothing like the sad-sack image he had in his head.

"I have a few listings from a realtor," she said, shoving a paper in his face, "But I don't know if I'll like any of them."

"Y-yeah, I'm Mike," he said, trying to keep up with the high energy of the woman. "I'm here to make sure you get a fair deal, but I'm not a realtor. Keep that in mind."

"No, I know. You are Harvey's… apprentice," she said, as if reciting from memory. For all Mike knew, she could have been. She began to walk and Mike tied up his bike, and then rushed to follow her. "Do you take the subway?" she asked.

"Uh, I try not to," Mike said. "Why, are you a glutton for punishment?" her face was blank.

"What is 'glutton for punishment'?" she asked.

He explained it to her and then said, "You're not from America?"

"No. I'm from Japan," she said. "So what is it like working for Harvey? You're very lucky. I bet it's marvelous."

"Uh, not quite the word I had in mind, but I guess so," Mike said. He wasn't used to people asking about his work.

"Harvey's a good lawyer," Natsuki said.

"Yeah, he's the best in the city," Mike said.

"You are very proud of him?" Natsuki asked.

"I've never seen anyone so determined to win, at any cost," Mike said. Natsuki smiled.

"You care about him," she said.

"Well… I'd like to think we're some sort of friends… but that might be stepping out of my bounds."

"He spoke very highly of you," she offered.

"Did he?" Mike was eager.

"Well… highly for Harvey. Which meant he mentioned you exist." She laughed easily and then saw that she had offended him. "I'm sorry," she said. They had reached the subway and both climbed aboard. The subway ride passed in awkward silence. When they got out, she repeated,

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Mike said with a smile. "I was just thinking… how do you know Harvey, exactly?" she paused.

"I'm his cleaning lady?" she said.

"You sound like you don't believe that," Mike said skeptically. "And besides, why would he care so much about a cleaning lady getting set up in a nice apartment in Chinatown?"

"Well, you're the prodigy," she said. "And we have all day. You can figure it out."

They visited a few apartments before she found one she really liked, a tiny one-bedroom with a steel number three on the door, a kitchenette and – the major selling point for Natsuki – a bathtub.

"I'll take it!" she cried out excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, let's talk about this for a second," Mike said, pulling her aside.

"What?" she asked.

"If they think you don't want it, they'll offer more," he said in a low voice.

"Like… how do you say it… hard-to-get?" she offered.

"Yes," he said emphatically. Without warning she let out an enormous sigh and leaned back on the countertop.

"My associate says he does not think I should buy the place, so we'll be going now," she said. Mike caught up to her in the hallway.

"Not that hard to get!" he said, trying not to laugh at her.

"You Americans!" she said in exasperation. "You say one thing, you say another thing, and you always turn back on your words!" she walked back into the room. "I'll take it," she said again, "But only if there is laundry in the building," she said again.

"There _is_ laundry in the building," said the woman, who by this point was very confused.

"Excellent," said Natsuki in her best Harvey voice. "I'll take it."


	9. Big Night

_Dress on the couch. Be ready tonight. _

_-Harvey_

Natsuki read the note about five times before she recognized that, a. it was for her, b. it was from Harvey and c. that it was legitimate. She walked slowly over to the couch. Her stomach turned over as she saw the beautiful embroidered white dress. It was western in style, and she knew she'd be expected to wear heels instead of her usual _geta,_ but she swallowed her discomfort and smiled. Harvey was reaching out to her for the first time. He wanted her to think that she was being ordered around, but what he didn't know was that she'd been waiting for something like this. Besides, the dress was beautiful.

She went throughout the house, straightening up, and then went home. She took her time shampooing and conditioning her hair, brushing it out, drying it, and then curling it. She started to get nervous as she donned the expensive dress. She was too nervous to eat, so she paced the room back and forth, thinking that the silver high heels needed some breaking in.

Harvey stopped by her apartment. She opened the door and they stood opposite each other, standing still, for a few long moments. In those few moments a barrier was broken. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time: not as a helpless little girl, but as a woman who deserved his respect. He hadn't expected to feel that way, but when he looked at her wearing the white dress he'd spent thousands of dollars on, in an attempt to make himself look good, he'd inadvertently made her look irresistible.

"You look good," he said

"Come on in… I'll just get my purse." She said.

"This is the best you can get on your budget?" he asked, looking around. She laughed.

"I scrub toilets for a living, Harvey." She reminded him. "While I might look nice now, I still spend my days cleaning for others." He paused.

"Wait, what? You've taken other jobs?" he noticed for the first time how tired she looked, how her hands were shaking slightly, despite her bubbly demeanor.

"I work a few jobs," she said lightly. "I got a job as a waitress downtown and I also babysit whenever I can." He grabbed her arm and stopped her short.

"If you need a raise, all you need to do is ask," he said.

"You pay me more than fairly, Harvey," she said quietly. "I'm saving up."

"For what?"

"It's stupid," she said, smiling at him.

"No, tell me," he said.

"Alright," she said, excited, "Since I was a little girl I always wanted to own my own tea room. I imagined I would have dignitaries from all over the world come visit. I would charge a lot of money but the tea would be fresh and I would have geishas serve the tea in the traditional way." She looked down and shrugged. "There are a few sushi places around, but no tea rooms."

He swallowed.

"So you'd want to go back to that life?" she looked up at him in surprise.

"Of course," she said. "All my life I wanted to be a geisha. To be a geisha is to be a walking work of art."

"You're a work of art _now_," he said. He stopped short; he couldn't believe the words had come out of his mouth. Not because he wasn't charming – he could charm the skirt off of any girl from New York City to Timbuktu – but because he realized he had meant the words.

She smiled at him, not the mysterious geisha smile but a genuine smile that crinkled up the sides of her eyes and showed her pearl-white teeth.

"Thank you," she said quietly, making them both feel uncomfortable. He ushered her out to the car, hoping the rest of the evening would go smoother.


	10. Masks

Natsuki tugged at the top of the sweetheart neckline, feeling out of place in the large room of junior and senior partners and their dates. Harvey had gone off to get them drinks. She looked for someone to talk to but no one jumped out at her, until a balding man with a broad face and large teeth sidled up to her.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Litt. Louis Litt. Junior partner."

"Mr. Litt, it's so nice to meet you," she said genuinely, bowing to him before she remembered she was supposed to shake hands. To her surprise, he bowed back – albeit extremely awkwardly.

"So who are you here with?" he asked.

"Harvey," she said.

"Of course," he was still smiling but there was something suddenly rotten underneath his demeanor. "It figures that you'd be here with him. How'd he find you? Art gala? Movie premier? No wait, let me guess… you're a model."

"I'm very flattered, Mr. Litt… but it was nothing like that."

"So where are you from?"

"Japan, actually…" she said, confused by his firing of questions.

Across the room Harvey saw the two of them talking and made a fierce beeline to Natsuki. He handed her champagne and wrapped a possessive arm around her side.

"Hi, Louis. Bye, Louis." He said. Louis rolled his eyes, made the 'I'm watching you' signal with two fingers, and then walked off.

Natsuki turned to him.

"What is our cover story?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Harvey asked.

"I assume you'd be embarrassed to tell people what I am, and you're not about to tell them that I'm your cleaning lady either, so where am I from?" she took a sip of champagne.

Harvey shrugged. "How about we met in a tea room?" She smiled, delighted.

"That sounds wonderful," she said. A sad, sweet song came on and couples flooded the floor to dance. Harvey took her hand and led her to the middle of the floor.

"So tell me Harvey, were you always king of New York City?" she asked.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about my past."

"You don't want to talk about your past, you don't want to talk about my past… what is there left for us to talk about?" she asked.

"The moment. The moment is much more important than either of our stories."

"Interesting," she said. "It appears I'm not the only one used to wearing a mask."

"Who said I was wearing a mask?" he asked.

"No one. They didn't have to," she said, touching the side of his face and tilting her head. They were on the crowded dance floor and they were dangerously close, breathing the same air.

"I think everyone is staring at us," she said after a few more moments. "Is it that scandalous that you're here with your cleaning lady?" he smiled.

"They're staring at you because you're beautiful, and I'm used to scandal," he said.

"Your arrogance never ceases to amaze me," she said. "But you know, I'd never want you to change. It looks good on you, Harvey."

"Everything looks good on me," he replied with a cocky grin. She laughed.

He drove her room and paused in front of her front door.

"You know, we could always go back to my place," he suggested. She froze, her hand still on the key.

"Harvey…" she began. She swallowed hard, and then forced herself to look into his face. "Harvey," she said again. "You've done so much for me. You took me in, you practically housed me, you gave me a job… but I still consider you my _danna_. So if you say you want to sleep with me, all you have to do is ask. But if you do ask…" she paused and then swallowed.

"If you do ask, don't pretend it won't change our relationship. I just feel as though I'll never see you again. I'm no fool. I know all the women of New York City want to be with you, and probably a lot of the men, too." He smiled despite himself, but still couldn't meet her eye. "But the thing is, despite my best efforts, I find myself caring about you. And I can't risk losing that… losing you… right now." She looked up at him.

"Is that a no?" he asked.

"No," she said. "It's up to you, Harvey. Who do you want me to be? The woman I was? Or the woman I'm becoming? Because I'm supposed to become whoever you want. And more than I'm supposed to… I want to be that person. I would dedicate my life to becoming that person."

"I want you to be your own person," he said. She smiled.

"I'll always be your girl, Forrest," she said, and they both smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"You'll definitely see me," she said, her eyes glittering. She kissed him on the cheek and then slipped into her apartment, leaving him wanting so much more.


	11. Loyalty

They went out for coffee cautiously. Both of them were tentative and afraid of this newfound thing they had unpeeled at the Partner's gathering. They were wondering how many layers it had, and how far they were willing to go before it unraveled.

"I think we should set some ground rules," Harvey suggested.

"Okay," she said, her face serious.

"Your place or mine?" he asked.

"Yours." She replied.

"Italian food or Chinese food?"

"Italian. Definitely."

"Any past injuries I should know about?"

"Nope. I am as healthy as a gift horse."

"I think you botched that a bit."

"The gift horse bit? I thought I was a gift horse," she said.

"You're not a gift horse." He replied.

"Then stop staring at my mouth," she said with a smirk. He smiled. "My turn. Do you prefer to go out or stay in?"

"Go out."

"So I'll be attending a lot of galas, and movie premiers?" she asked.

"If we agree to pursue this thing, yes."

"Lots of wine tastings?"

"As long as you agree not to get drunk."

"I don't know, Harvey… I think you'd like me when I'm drunk. I'm much more fun that way."

"You're fun enough now."

"Will I get to meet your parents?" she asked.

He hesitated.

"No." he said finally.

"Alright," she said, taking it in stride. He was surprised that she accepted it without pestering him, but he was learning quickly that she loved what usually irritated people most about him: his distance, his arrogance, and his sharpness, to name a few. "But to be even, you won't get to meet mine, either." She said, and then took a slow bite of the cookie in front of her.

"What do you like most about me?" he asked. She hesitated, then laughed at herself.

"What?" he asked, smirking.

"You'll laugh."

"I will not."

"I like… I like the way you say 'jack shit'." She giggled.

"You're kidding," he said. "I have all this money, the apartment – well, you've seen the apartment – I'm the best lawyer in the city, and what gets you off is the way I say 'jack shit'? Damn." He took a sip of his scotch.

"My turn to ask. Do you prefer the truth or love?"

He paused, then said firmly, "Truth. I'd hate to be the poor sucker that's the last to know."

"Well, it goes without saying that I will be loyal to you," she said.

"I won't ask that of you," he said.

"Well, I'm giving it to you," she said.

"I don't think you should."

"I do. I don't want you to think about me with someone else. I don't mind if you see other women – as my _danna_ you can see whoever you like, but I want to be just yours."

"I don't think you can do that."

"Are you saying I can't be loyal to you?"

"I'm saying you won't be."

She fell silent, then she stood up and began packing her things, eyes burning.

"What?" he asked.

"It's not what you said," she said. "You say shit all the time and I've learned not to pay attention to it. But you _meant_ that, Harvey. Do you really think that little of me? No. Don't answer. I already know the answer – if you've fucked one, you've fucked them all. You assume I'm just like every other woman. Well, forget it, then. Clean your own goddamn apartment!" she spat, and then stormed out, muttering in Japanese.

"Check, please." he said to the waiter.


	12. Sour Gummy Worms

Harvey thought long and hard about ignoring his gut. He thought long and hard about just letting it go. But he couldn't. Maybe it was the feeling of being defeated, maybe it was his pride or his spite… or maybe it was because he couldn't shake the thought of the way she had looked at him when they had first met, like he was the only person on the planet that could see her.

Whichever it was, he found himself sitting in a tiny diner waiting for the waitress to come take his order. And when she did, she jumped backwards in surprise, and then narrowed her eyes.

"I should have known a man with a tie wouldn't come into this restaurant. How many did you have to try?" she asked.

"I asked around. Turns out the word is pretty loud about the real geisha in Chinatown." She flushed and then tightened her jaw.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I'd like a plate of sushi and some sake," he said.

"No, Harvey," she said sharply, "What do you want? I'm busy. You shouldn't have come here."

"You don't even have a cell phone! How else was I supposed to reach you?"

"I don't know. Carrier pigeon? Muffin basket? Smoke signal? I would never bother you at _your_ place of work."

"Come on, Natsuki, I'm not a waiter."

The rage in her eyes was palpable. He flinched.

"What do I have to do?" he asked. She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Since you seem incapable of saying you're sorry, I'll give you another option." She said.

"What's that?"

"Sour gummy worms."

He stared at her.

"What?"

"They're my favorite candy."

"Okay…"

"If I find a package of sour gummy worms in my box tomorrow morning, I'll know that you're sorry. I'll go back to cleaning your house and we can pretend this whole thing never happened."

"This whole thing?"

"The unpleasantness."

"Alright."

"Are you going to order anything?" she asked. "If not, I'm going to have to kick you out."

He left, but as he did he noticed there was that mysterious smile on her mouth again.

The next morning, she opened the door and checked her mailbox. No gummy worms. She looked down disappointedly.

"Hey," someone said. She looked up and to her surprise she saw Harvey, holding a small package of sour gummy worms. She smiled, walked down the steps, and took them out of his hands.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said. "Because I don't want things to go away like it never happened." She looked up at him in surprise. "I want us to remember it. I want us to learn from it." She slowly opened the package. "I want us to get some things straight." He said, half-shouting over the sound of a honk in the background, the sound of cars. "I am not your _danna_," he said. "For lack of a better word, for now I'd like to be someone you're seeing."

"For lack of a better word, I think that's shit," she said, smiling up at him tightly. "I told you, Harvey, I can be loyal to you. Is the issue that you can't be loyal to me?"

"No, not at all. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He said. "I'd like us to see each other, and just each other. I don't want things to go back to the way they were because the way they were, we were just friends. I don't like that very much. I don't have a lot of friends and frankly, I don't think I have any friends that I'm as attracted to as you." She smiled. He let out a breath.

"So I'd like to date you." He said with his winningest Specter smile, not betraying any of the nervousness he felt. "What do you say to that?" She smiled back, the earnest Natsuki smile, not the geisha smile.

"Want a gummy worm?" she said, holding it up to him. He took it and chewed it. It _was_ sour. She laughed at the face he made. "Yes, I'll date you," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes," she said, nodding and laughing, "Yes. I'd love to. Yes."


	13. First Date

Natsuki was well aware that she was abandoning who she had been for Harvey. She put away her face paint, ignored her desire for a fine kimono, and got used to wearing heels instead of _geta_. It was the price of becoming who Harvey wanted, and it was a price she was willing to pay.

He bought her a beautiful dress for an art gallery opening in Manhattan, a lavender creation with ruffles around the bottom and one sleeve. She wore glitter on her collarbones, and did her eyes up with light powder and soft lines of eyeliner. He picked her up outside of her tiny apartment, and she was bouncing with excitement.

"We've really got to get you set up in a bigger apartment," Harvey said as she stepped into the car.

"I don't mind it, I have this whole big world that I share with you," she said, smiling at him.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she said, nudging his shoulder. He was wearing a tuxedo and had combed his hair back a la James Bond. "So what's on the agenda for the evening?"

"I leave agendas to my secretary," he said. "We're going to focus on just having fun."

"Fun at an art gallery? That's some high-brow version of fun, Harvey."

"Who said fun can't be high brow?"

"When you're dressed like we are? No one would dare." She said with the geisha smile.

They sidled up to the small art gallery and slipped inside. Harvey held the door open for her and, charmed, she entered with a large smile.

"My, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," she said, looking around, stunned, at the artwork. Large sculptures made out of knitted yarn were scattered around the room. Natsuki giggled. Harvey got them champagne and then they walked slowly through the room.

"I think this one reminds me of myself," Natsuki said, gesturing to a large blue man with a red knitted beard.

"Don't sell yourself short, you're much more like the orange swan," Harvey said, pointing with his champagne at the creature, which was lopsided and out of proportion.

"Why, thank you Harvey, I didn't know you thought so highly of me," said Natsuki, hand over heart. They walked over to the car, which was a light yellow and had every detail down to the headlights, except for the fact that it was entirely made out of yarn.

"I'd love to drive this thing," Harvey said.

"You like to drive?" Natsuki asked.

"Fast," Harvey replied.

"What a coincidence, I love to be a passenger," she said.

"Always the passenger?"

"Behind every great driver is a great passenger," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"We might just have to get out of here and go for a drive, then," he said. "I've only had half a glass of champagne and I think this art is a little too strange for us on a first date."

"Oh, and escaping to go on a wild car ride would be less strange?"

"I thought the goal for tonight was fun. Screw the agendas."

"Alright," she said with a small smile, "Screw the agendas. Let's go." They said a polite goodbye to the artist, slipped out the back door, and Harvey summoned his sleek grey car out of seemingly nowhere. She settled into the passenger's seat.

"Get ready, Natty," he said, and put the car into gear.

They flew out of the city.

"Where are we going?" she shouted over the sound of the car roaring along. He turned the radio up and pretended not to hear her, turning to her with the famous Specter smile.

"I'll tell you when we get there," he said. She laughed and leaned her head against the window, enjoying the view of the scenery rolling past.

She dozed off and when she woke up they were pulling up to an inlet.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Just a bit," he said. "We're here."

"Where is here?"

"The Jersey Shore."

"_What?!_"

"Shh. Get out. I want to show you around." She climbed out of the car to see they were parked in front of a walkway with a railing, near an inlet where the boats came and went. He was still in his tuxedo but he had undone the bow tie and she kicked off her heels and left them in the car. They walked along the inlet. Harvey took her hand into his.

They reached the sand and stepped onto the beach. It was completely silent except for the roar of the waves. She walked down to the water and put her feet in.

"Come on, Harvey," she shouted back, laughing. "The water's fine! Come on, you know you want to." he looked around. There was no one watching. He kicked off his shoes and socks and ran into the water with Natsuki, getting his feet wet up to his ankles. She turned to him, smiling.

"I just want to say, Harvey," she said. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"You're the one that's done all the work," he said. There was a pause.

"I'm afraid I don't have a clever response for that," she said.

"Sometimes you don't have to talk," he said, and kissed her. The waves crashed around their ankles and the moon shone down on them. He kissed her gently, making up for their fight. Natsuki had never been kissed like that before, all the men of her life had been greedy and rough. She melted under his touch.

After a time they walked up the beach hand in hand, camping out under the life guard stand.

"Tell me something about yourself, Harvey," she said.

"I'm good-looking, exceptionally good at my job, and great in bed, what else do you need to know?" he asked.

"Tell me if you like your job."

"I love my job."

"Did you always love it?"

"I wasn't always a lawyer."

She was surprised.

"I imagined you came from wealth," she said in explanation. "I never imagined that you'd be anything _but_ a lawyer."

"No… I used to work in the mail room," he said. He was surprised at himself for sharing this with her but the more he got to know Natsuki the more he wanted to trust her. It was difficult, so he chose to tell her things that everyone knew. "A woman named Jessica Pearson picked me out and got me through law school. Then I started working at Pearson Hardman. I worked hard, I got a lot done in a short amount of time and before anyone knew it I was senior partner."

"Wow." She was impressed.

"What about you? Do you like your job?" she laughed.

"Scrubbing toilets and waiting tables was hardly what I had in mind when I was a little girl," she said. "I imagined my life full of glamour and riches – that is the world of the geisha. But if I keep saving, in a few years I'll have my own tea shop and that's all I've ever really wanted." She smiled up at him, then sighed and snuggled into his side. "You really are fantastic, Harvey."

"Don't flatter me. If my head gets any bigger it might explode." She laughed and held him again. They kissed under the stars, talking and dozing in the sand, until Natsuki fell asleep. He wrapped both arms around her, thinking,

_I'll just close my eyes for a moment. _

He woke up before sunrise and saw that Natsuki was still sleeping soundly tucked into his side. She smelled sweet like synthetic violet perfume and he sat for a few moments with his face in her hair, breathing in her scent, until she moved slightly and woke up, and then he turned away, pretending he was still asleep. She said something to him in Japanese, quietly, touched his lips, and then let out a long sigh. She looked out to the water, and then let out a gasp, shaking him.

"Harvey! Harvey, look, the sun's about to rise!" She ran down to the water, splashed in the low tide, getting the hem of her dress soaked. "Harvey, look! Look!" the sun poked up, large and yellow, as the stars vanished high above. She looked back at him and in that moment he swore she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. But the thought was gone as quickly as it had come. She laughed and threw her hands up.

"Good morning, America! Good morning, world!" she shouted.

He smiled. She ran back to him, feet caked in sand and sea water, laughing, and half-tackled, half-hugged him. They walked back to the car.

"Don't you get any of that shit in my car," he warned, gesturing to her feet. She rolled her eyes and obliged.

They drove back to New York City, with her sleeping most of the way, out of pure exhaustion from having stayed up so late. He dropped her off back at her apartment still early in the day.

"I can safely say this was the best first date I've ever been on," she said. "Well, I've never been on any first dates, not really, but this one would be the best, purely by comparison-"

"Bye, Natsuki," he said.

"Bye, Harvey." She said, smiling, and slammed the door to his car shut.


	14. Overcoming Apprehension

They went to Yankee games and ate truffle fries in the Mohegan Sun sports bar. They went to art galas and chuckled to each other about the tastelessness of so much modern art. They went to movie premiers and shared popcorn, their fingers buttery and salty. In fact it was about a month before Harvey even suggested that they go back to his apartment and spend the night together.

Natsuki was more than apprehensive. She was terrified. She liked Harvey and in her opinion, sex was an abuse reserved to people that lived like animals. She told him as much, and told him in tears that she'd never been able to turn down an offer because it was her job. It had always been a painful, unpleasant experience in her life and she didn't want to scar her relationship with him with such a horrible act.

He patted her shoulder and suggested she simply come over for dinner, instead. There was no reason to move too quickly, he said, and he always wanted her to be comfortable.

They ate dinner in silence. The tension in the room was palpable.

"Are you not hungry?" Harvey asked. Natsuki dropped her fork. "You know, if I'd known you hated lamb I never would have ordered it." He smiled at her, but in vain, she looked down at her plate and was nearly in tears again.

"Natsuki, why don't you just try it?" he asked. She lifted her fork to her trembling lips. "That's not what I meant," he said with a laugh. "Come on. Come with me to the bedroom. I promise if anything goes wrong we'll stop right away, okay?" she nodded and followed him into the bedroom.

What happened was the last thing she expected. She was happy with just kissing him, but he guided her through the darkest twists and turns of pleasure that she'd never even imagined existed. He put on old music, wrapped her up in his arms and made love to her as if they were the last people on earth.

When it was over she lay quietly.

"Was it what you expected?" he asked.

"Not at all," she sighed. "It was nice."

"Just nice?"

"Fucking nice."

He laughed.

"Mind if I go to sleep? It's so comfy in this bed." she sighed, snuggled into his side.

"Go right ahead," he said. "I'm getting tired, myself."

"You're a good man, Harvey Specter," she said, smiling up at him, tapping his chest. "You'd never admit it to anyone, but I think you know it. You're a good man." She nodded off, and he quickly followed after her into the world of dreams.


	15. Morning After

The next morning Harvey woke up to the smell of breakfast. Natsuki was humming in the kitchen, walking back and forth cooking chocolate chip pancakes on the frying pan and coffee was brewing in the pot. He rolled out of bed, put on a pair of boxers and walked into the kitchen.

"Make yourself a plate," she said with a grin. "I've been eating since I woke up."

"You worked up an appetite?" he asked.

"It hardly felt like work, Harvey," she said with a twinkle in her eye. He kissed her neck and then got himself a plate, pouring himself coffee and grabbing a few pancakes.

"How did you make them?" he asked.

"It was easy, I just followed the directions on the box!" she said, delighted. He smiled, taking a bite of the pancakes. They were delicious. He ate four. When it came time for it he changed into his suit. She tied his tie and he slipped into his shoes.

"Have a great day," she said. "I'll clean up the mess and I'll see you later. Are we doing anything tonight?"

"I was thinking box seats at that new Broadway show," he said.

"That sounds great!" she said.

"Alright, I'll see you later." He kissed her goodbye and went out the door, thinking to himself,

_I could get used to this. _


	16. Big News

And despite himself, he did get used to it. For three months they lived in bliss, going to shows, laughing watching old movies sitting on his couch, reading to each other by lamplight, going out to expensive dinners, sleeping in late together. It was only after three months, when Natsuki unexpectedly came to visit him in his office, that their idyllic world took a blow.

She went walking in, cautious, fearful, glancing around as if she was harboring illegal contraband. She reached Donna's desk.

"Hi, I'm here to see Harvey," she said.

"Do you have an appointment?" Donna asked.

"N-No, but I really need to see him. It's an emergency."

"I'm just kidding, Natsuki, I know who you are. Are you okay?" Donna asked, frowning.

"I just really need to see Harvey," she said.

"Alright, well, he's in a meeting with a client right now, but you can wait in his office," Donna said. Natsuki thanked her, slipped into the office, and sat, waiting. She waited for two hours before Harvey finally deigned to meet her. She wasn't surprised but she was disappointed. By the time he got there she was about to leave and was in tears.

"What on earth is so important you came to my office?" Harvey asked.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to burst in on you."

"What's the matter?" he said, realizing how upset she looked.

"I have some news," she said. "I went to the doctor today…"

"Oh, no," Harvey said. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh no…"

"…because I was late, and I didn't want to come to you until I was sure…" he sat down numbly at his desk. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to let you know."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Harvey. I'm pregnant."

He let out a long breath and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donna's head jerk up.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I'm leaving for Japan," she said. "I'm booking the plane for tomorrow. I'll never bother you again."

"I thought you said you couldn't go back to Japan."

"I'll take my chances. I don't want to be a burden to you."

"A burden? I don't… I didn't… how far along are you?"

"I'm not getting an abortion, Harvey."

"That's not what I'm asking."

"Two months."

"But we were always so careful."

"Apparently not."

"Do you know what it is?"

"I don't want you to get attached-"

"Natsuki. Just tell me."

"No, I don't know what it is. But I think… I think it's a boy." Harvey let out a long breath.

"I can't believe this."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, it's my fault."

"Doesn't matter. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I don't… I don't want you to leave." He said.

"You don't want a child holding you back. Look, it's been fun, you enjoy my company, we have some laughs, but you're not about to marry me, Harvey."

"Who said anything about marrying you? I can support you without marrying you." She hesitated, then shook her head.

"No. I'm leaving tomorrow." She said. "I will not let this child stop you. The only reason I even told you of its existence was because I thought you deserved to know."

"Deserved to… Natsuki, I deserve to be part of its life."

"Do you even want to be part of its life? Harvey, you can't even show me a bit of vulnerability, how would you act around a child?"

"I would support you."

"I thought we were equals."

"Not anymore." She smiled, her geisha smile.

"You really want this?" she asked. "To be part of this child's life, to know it and to love it?"

"Well… for now, I just know I don't want you to leave for Japan. That's all I know. It's not safe for you there." She crossed the room and kissed him. Neither of them were expecting it.

"Alright," she said with a smile. "Are you sure? Just say the word Harvey and I'll be gone, you'll never have to worry about me anymore."

"No, I'm sure," he said. "I want to be part of its life. I want you to stay in my life. If that means I have to support you, I will. I'm just… I'm not the marrying type."

"You're still my _danna_," she said, touching his face. "I'll always see you that way. I'll always be your girl, Harvey." He smiled.

"You'll always be my girl," he said, and it was as good as him saying 'I love you'.


	17. Gordon

The baby came on a sunny day in June. Harvey came home to find Natsuki on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "I told you, you don't have to clean up anymore. And the doctor said no intense physical activity-"

"The contractions started a few hours ago," she said calmly, scrubbing away at the floor.

"What? I'll call the doctor!" he said, running to the phone.

"No, no," she said, wringing out the rag and then dipping it back into the bucket. She went back to scrubbing the floor. "First birth's labor can last hours and hours, honey. I don't want to be stuck in a hospital for hours and hours. I'd much rather scrub the floor. I took some Advil – " she stopped for a moment, holding her stomach, breathing slow, "and I'll be fine. Just a bit longer. If I can just scrub the floor a little bit longer, before I call the hospital-"

"No thank you," said Harvey, dialing up the hospital. "Hello, I'd like to get a room ready. My girlfriend's gone into labor. Yes, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" Natsuki asked as he hung up the phone.

"Yes, a few minutes," Harvey snapped, "I drive fast. Come on, get up, we're going in." She reluctantly obeyed, standing and hobbling to the car, where Harvey's driver sped them to the finest hospital in New York City.

"Breathe, Natty, just keep breathing," he commanded her. She did as she was told as they moved them up to her room.

"I don't want you to be here to see me like this," she said, crying, "This is the most ungraceful thing I've ever done… this is nothing like the pretty girl you won at a hand of poker!"

"Stop talking and just breathe. I'm going to be there whether you want it or not, and then you I'm going to buy you as many gummy worms as you can eat."

"Sour," she said.

"Sour gummy worms," he amended. "But you gotta get through this first."

And she did. Through the pain and the blood, through the tears and the painkillers, she made it through, and at the end the doctor announced that they had a beautiful healthy baby boy.

"Let me hold him," Natsuki said, holding her shaking arms out. They plopped him down on her chest and she wept, holding their baby to her heart. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked.

"I don't think I have," Harvey admitted, smiling at his son.

"We never decided on a name," she said, looking up at Harvey. "I was thinking Harvey Jr."

"No…" Harvey said. "I think Gordon."

"Gordon?" her nose crinkled in confusion.

"It was my father's name," he said. She smiled.

"Gordon," she said softly. She touched the tiny baby's nose. "Gordon Specter, welcome to New York City."


	18. Going to the Doctor's

The baby grew, and grew and grew, until he was a beautiful five year old with Natsuki's eyes and Harvey's confidence. Thanks to Harvey's support, Natsuki had her own tea shop, and Harvey was thriving in his law firm and life seemed to be perfect.

It was then, at the zenith of their happiness, that Natsuki started getting thinner and thinner. It was seemingly nothing at first, just a health kick, and then Harvey chalked it up to too much tea and not enough food, but after months of watching her waste away he decided he had to take her to the doctor.

The doctor wasn't sure what it was, he said it could be a sign of diabetes and he suggested some blood work. When the work came back he called them in.

"We have some news, Mr. Specter, Ms. Takeshi," he said.

"I have diabetes?" she asked nervously, tugging at the leather of her pocketbook.

"No… no, you don't have diabetes," said the doctor. He readjusted his glasses, moved the case files on his desk, and straightened up again. He swallowed.

"Quit stalling, what's the problem?" Harvey asked.

"I'm very sorry to tell you that you have cancer, Ms. Takeshi," he said.

Harvey watched as the color drained from his girlfriend's face.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"It's… it's quite bad," he said. "It's stage four liver cancer. You never complained about any sort of pain, you never came in for tests, so we had no way of knowing that it was spreading, but it's too late to operate. I'm sorry to tell you, you only have a few months to live."

She sat back in her chair. She didn't cry but her breathing was shallow.

"There must be other options," Harvey said. Natsuki swallowed hard.

"I'm afraid there aren't many," said the doctor. "At this point, it's a miracle she's alive at all. The cancer is inoperable – it's spread all through the organs."

"There must be some treatment – chemo, radiation, some other sort of alternative-"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Specter," said the doctor. "At this point chemotherapy may give you a few more months, but there's really nothing that we can do to stop the cancer. I hate to give you folks such terrible news."

Harvey stalled for a few more minutes, and then stood abruptly and they left the office, Natsuki trailing behind him, holding a tissue to her mouth. They went home to their son and Natsuki stood outside the door while he heard Natsuki talking to their child:

"Honey, mommy got some bad news today…" he played with his trains. "Honey, can you listen? Gordie, can you pay attention to mommy? Mommy might not be around anymore in a little bit… I need you to know that I love you very much."

"Mom, you're on top of my track," said the boy, trying to run his train over where his mother's knee was.

"Of course. I understand," his mother said, laughing, standing up and walking out of the room. "We'll try again another time," she whispered to Harvey as he stood outside of the room.

"Why'd we raise such a brat?" he whispered. She looked at him in surprise, and then her face fatigued.

"Don't, Harvey," she said. "I know you love your son, even if you won't admit it even to yourself. He's not a brat. He's just too little to understand. Do _you _even understand? What this means? For us?" He swallowed hard. Harvey's throat tightened and he nodded. She smiled her geisha smile and touched his face.

"I'll start making the preparations now, so you have little to worry about later," she said softly, and then she made her way down the hallway.


	19. Saying Goodbye

_FOR THE FULL EFFECT OF THIS AND THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER, PLEASE LISTEN TO "MEDICINE" BY DAUGHTER WHILE READING. _

At the end, the doctor told them they had a few days left, and she spent them in the hospital, on Harvey's insistence. He was sure they were going to find something extraordinary in her last few hours- that they would decide to operate after all, or that they could turn back the clock and save them for a few more months. But Natsuki was no fool. She knew there was nothing they could do for her. And she also knew there were a few things she had to say.

They sat in the dimly lit room, visiting hours over, the nurses bribed to keep quiet, and Natsuki spoke to the man sitting broken next to her with his head bowed.

"Harvey," her breathing was labored, her smile even more so. "Harvey. I love you."

"I need you to prove that you love me. I need you to live."

"There are no courts here, Harvey. There is no reasonable doubt. There's just you and me, and I'm telling you that I love you."

"I can't-"

"Say the words. I know. It's okay." She gave his hand a little squeeze and then laughed. It was a sweet sound, out of place in such a horrible, sanitized room without hope. "You don't even know how much you'll miss me," she said, a tear falling from her eyes. She didn't notice his eyes were tearing.

"Don't try to be so damn strong, Harvey," she said. Her voice was an echo of what it had been. "Let Gordon see you cry. It will show him how powerful you are. You can move mountains Harvey. I only wish God wasn't so cruel… but I've made my peace with God. I'm ready to go."

"I'm not ready for you to go."

"I know… but we're out of time, Harvey."

"We're not…"

"Harvey." She looked up at him and smiled. "It's okay. It's okay." She touched his face. "You know it was worth it to live through all those horrible years… I just wish I would have known that I would someday meet you. It would have made the bad days more bearable. You made everything more bearable. Oh, Harvey… we were such children…" she let out a long breath.

"Is it the pain? I'll get the nurse."

"No. No, don't leave, Harvey. Harvey… make sure you tell Gordon… I love him… every day…" Her face screwed up in pain and then relaxed, and suddenly she lay very still.

"Natsuki? Natsuki?" he saw that she was gone. "Nurse? Nurse! Somebody!" he screamed. The doctor came running in, took her vitals.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Specter," the doctor said quietly. "She's gone."

Harvey stood up, unfeeling. The chair was knocked over behind him. He didn't hear anything, not the beeping of her monitor, not the doctors declaring the time of death, not the sounds of the cars outside. He stared at the face of his lover, not even a tear in his eye. He swallowed hard.

He walked quietly out and down the steps, straightening his tie. Gordon was still at the babysitter's. Mike was out with Rachel. The apartment was empty. The apartment was empty – and it would remain empty. No more rice balls, no more chocolate chip pancakes, no more sour gummy worms. No more Natsuki.

He went to the office and put on one of his records. He sat down and let himself cry, taking a long drink of whiskey.

"Harvey?" He jerked his head up to see Donna standing in the half-light of his office.

"Donna," he said weakly, and she realized what had happened.

"I'm so sorry," Donna said, her eyes tearing up. He let out a long breath. His throat tightened. He wiped his eyes and looked away from her.

"It's okay." His voice was strong, didn't crack. He frowned suddenly and looked up at her. "Why are you here?"

"I forgot my purse," she said. He nodded shortly and then, slowly, he held up the drink of whiskey to her.

"Bottoms up," he said. She sat down next to him and took a small sip. She grimaced at the taste, but swallowed gulp after gulp. She wiped the flood of tears from her eyes.

"Does Gordon know yet?" she asked.

"No. I don't know how I'm going to tell him. She was always so much better with him than I was."

"Don't sell yourself short, Harvey. You're a great father."

"Don't, Donna. Just… don't. Can we please just sit here? Not saying anything?"

"Sure, Harvey. Sure."

And that's what they did. Just sat there on the couch, drinking whiskey and watching the lights of the city, listening to Harvey's records. Donna fell asleep on the couch and Harvey set her up with a blanket and then slipped out.

When she woke up in the morning he showed no sign of grief. He chastised her for falling asleep on his couch and ordered her out of the office so he could work. He called Mike in and began the day. He didn't show how exhausted he was, how grief stricken he was, how every breath was like a laborious marathon. He didn't show any of it, because he couldn't. Donna was the only one that knew, and she wasn't about to show anyone. He was a little harder on Louis than he should have been, he was a little shorter with Jessica than he should have been, he was a little kinder to Mike than he usually was. But that was all. No one knew he had suffered the loss of a loved one. No one knew, because he refused to tell them.

Mike never found out, just supposed that the woman had passed through his life like every other. Everyone just assumed that Harvey had forgot the girl and moved on. But they couldn't have been more wrong, as evidenced by the boy with big black eyes waiting for his father in front of his first day of kindergarten, when his mother hadn't been there to pick him up.


	20. Moving On

He dressed Gordon up into a small black suit and dressed himself in his best for Natsuki's funeral. He didn't cry, didn't speak, didn't argue with anyone. He quoted a few movies, shook a few hands, but didn't smile. Wondered if he would ever smile again.

After everyone else had left it was he and Gordon left staring at Natsuki's grave, which was next to a blank plot, which was left for Harvey. Harvey looked down at his son, who was weeping openly. Harvey squatted down in front of him.

"Don't cry." He said. Gordon did his best to stop his tears.

"I miss Mommy," he said. Harvey's eyes filled with tears.

"I know. I miss her too. I miss her a lot." He said. "I loved your mother very much. And she loved you." Gordon looked up at his father in surprise. He never spoke with true vulnerability to the boy. "I promise you," Harvey said, "She loved you very much. All she did was love." He squeezed the boy's hands.

"I love you, Daddy." Gordon said.

"I… I love you too." He wiped his red eyes and placed a baggie of sour gummy worms on her grave. "We're going to miss her a lot. But we're going to be okay." He stood up and saw Donna standing not too far away by a tree. He walked over to her. "You don't have intercom as an excuse this time," he said.

"I truly am sorry, Harvey." Donna said.

"I know," Harvey said. "I just don't know where to go from here." She took his hand for just a moment, gave it a squeeze, and then let go of it again.

"You'll be alright," she said quietly. She bent down to Gordon. "Hello, Little Man," she said.

"Hi, Aunt Donna," he said.

"We're a little tired," Harvey said, gesturing to his son. "I don't think we're going to go to the reception. I think we're just going to go home." he hesitated for a long moment and then said, "I'd like it if you came with us, Donna."

She looked up at him in surprise, and then nodded.

"Alright," she said. She took Gordon's other hand and they walked him back to the car, back to the apartment, and back to the real world. Just before they got into the car, Harvey turned back. The wind whipped through his hair.

"_I'll always be your girl, Harvey." _

"You'll always be my girl," he said softly, in a voice that was barely there.

"Daddy, are you coming?" Gordon asked from inside the car. Harvey slipped inside beside his son and shut the door.


End file.
